Crossing the river

May 29th 2014
A 20 minute drive from Luang Prabang brought us to the elephant village where we spent the next two days. We'd done a lot of research before choosing the Elephant Park Project. Like almost everyone, we love elephants. And the idea of seeing one close up, touching it, appealed to both of us. But humans have a history of interactions that put animals on the losing end of the stick, and we didn't wan ... read more

Asia » Laos » West » Luang Prabang

Laos was under the control of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the Communist Pathe... ... read more

Message Follow (15) Comment

Roberta Cenedese

Matt and Roberta

Matt and I met while we were both traveling in Puerto Rico in 1998. He worked on a research site in El Yunque Rainforest on the main island and I worked as a divemaster on Vieques. After 10 years living a settled existence in Vancouver, Canada, we felt a real need to get back to traveling. So we sold our house, put our stuff in storage and set off in search of great places to freedive and new adventures. Right now plans are to explore SE Asia until we feel the call to move on...... full info

Joined	December 13th 2013	Trips	1
Last Login	February 19th 2022	Followers	15
Status	BLOGGER	Follows	10
Blogs	38	Guestbook	145
Photos	861	Forum Posts	17

[photo=8024539]

[blogger=279049]

[photo=8024539]

[blog=843687]

[blogger=279049]

Top Photos Trips (1)Blog Map

31st May 2014

D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley

Research
I'm glad you did your research. When we were in Thailand they took us to an event that we really didn't ask enough questions and were sad when we saw the elephants we kicking soccer balls and painting. Looks like you found a great place to experience.

1st June 2014

Matt and Roberta
Roberta Cenedese

Research
Nothing is perfect though. They still offer trekking chairs for some people which are supposed to be hard on the elephants. These are for very short trips so people can get used to the motion of the elephants but still, not great. And a baby was born to one of the elephants. It's only a year old so is kept with it's mother across the river but it wasn't clear what they would do with him when he gets older. They don't use males to transport tourists. We've had experiences like you describe with other animals and in other countries. It's so hard to navigate. Especially when accurate information you can trust is not easily accessible.

Tot: 0.114s; Tpl: 0.004s; cc: 9; qc: 63; dbt: 0.0847s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb